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He came in trying to conceal his identity, presenting himself as a humble landscaper. But Rock Carlson had a history and a past that surpassed many of his contemporaries on Deal or No Deal Island. With a goal of being a non-threat at top of mind, it was one former Survivor player who placed a target on his back that set his game ablaze. Had Parvati Shallow not tried to save Sydnee Peck a week prior, perhaps Rock could have concealed his plan, but he was forced to face the Banker via quite a rough game. Rock had a gameplan had he made a good deal: “The next episode, I was going to start turning up the flames.”
Rock’s time on the Banker’s Private Island may have been limited, but this family man made the most of his experience. Rock shares the emotional reason behind why he took the final deal in the Banker’s Challenge. Anyone with a heart will understand his decision.
Rock Compares the Island to ‘The Jungle Book’
I’m ready to go if you are, Rock.
ROCK CARLSON: Hey, let’s let it roll, brother.
How you doing?
ROCK: Man, I’m doing great.
Well, let’s open it up. How are you feeling after that wild episode?
ROCK: Oh, fricking great, man. WOOOO! Awesome. I played my game, brother. There’s no regrets with me. None.
Let’s start simple. If you could describe your experience in three words, what would they be?
ROCK: God, that’s tough. Absolutely mind-blowing. But with much appreciation, man.
I love that. What was it like stepping foot on the Banker’s Private Island and those stunning accommodations?
ROCK: Absolutely…I don’t know if I can say the F word, but crazy, 100% man. It was like, Holy sh-! Like I just jumped out of Jungle Book or some sh-, man. I mean, it was like damn, howler monkeys going off and yelling and screaming, man. You got the snakes and ants fighting rats on their hind legs. I mean, everything was to kill you, and then the cast wanted to kill you too.
That’s true.
ROCK: But the accommodations. Unbelievable. Man, unbelievable. The food. Hey, listen, they made our bed every day, man. Put new sheets on. I’m like, Oh my God. I don’t know why they put new sheets on every day. It’s maybe some of the cast were sh– their pants. I don’t know. It was beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful.
Now, how much preparation did you do prior to stepping out on the island?
ROCK: I just watched Season one of Deal or No Deal Island. But I’ve watched a lot of reality TV shows, so I really didn’t do too much. I mean, I’m working here in my yard with jackhammers, everything else. So I had pretty much physical stuff. My running was off a little bit. I gotta tell you, brother, being 65 now 66, that run from the lock and key or chain event or whatever the hell that was. Man, I tell you what. That’s the fastest and the hardest I ran right for 47 years, man!
Now, you mentioned you watch reality television. Let’s talk about the evil doctor. What was your reaction when you saw Dr. Will enter the game? Did you know about his reputation?
ROCK: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I saw Mr. Penguin in his outfit, rolling on that boat. Brother, what are you doing, man? I mean, come on, man. But of course, I’m playing it off because I don’t want everybody to know that I know anything about reality TV. I was just this landscaper, you know, 59-year-old dude that just happened to be there. But I was really excited about it because I saw Parvati, and I thought, “Oh, my God.” You know, Survivor and Big Brother, it’s not like a happy marriage, you know. They’re great, and they get along. I think that one is, you know, CBS. And, you know, CBS, but I don’t think that they’re really compatible people. Very competitive. So I thought, hey, this is a good time to really watch now. I got two big shields in front of me.
Absolutely.
ROCK: That’s where I was at. I was happy. Maybe I picked something up from him, you know. Who knows. Or Parvati. And I knew Parvati straight from the airport. I saw that right away.
Let’s talk about this week’s excursion. What was your strategy for this challenge?
ROCK: The sandcastle one. Okay, well, first of all, my strategy is always kind of like to watch and hang back and analyze the situation. See who’s in whose car, who’s driving, blah, blah, blah, you know. So my deal with this was try to get out of the chains as quick as I could, but you could not budge that chian. So if they didn’t want you to go, you weren’t going. So my strategy was try and get there as fast as I can, and get through those goddamn sandcastles as fast as I can. And try and get a bigger case. So when I took off, and I finally got out, and I ran to the san castles, my God, they’re four or five feet tall. They were huge. You don’t know where they’re at inside the goddamn thing. And you gotta dig it. You gotta get it. So, my strategy was to get it. But when I came around the corner, and I saw the two flags up, because everybody knew what everybody had, because the flags designated it. But there was a part where they scan it, but I didn’t have my glasses. I couldn’t see sh- from Shinola man, as far as anything. What were the high value cases or not. And when I looked down that trail, my God, it was trail all the way down. There was nothing. Well, I saw these. I thought, “Where the shit did everybody go? Like, where did they go? George?” I was like, s-, I must have taken the wrong turn. Where the hell am I? Well, I saw the two cases. I saw the one on the left was higher than the one on the right. And I thought, s-, if I go all the way down, and they come back up, I’m screwed. So I said, I better take it. So that’s what I did. And so I took it and then everybody’s talking about what you got in your case. What everybody knew, because they were all walking around seeing what you got. And Lete came to my aid in the in command thing, or the chain thing, whatever they call it. She said, “Let me go first, and I’ll help you.” And I trusted her because Lete was not one that was really getting into anything. And, of course, Dr. Will made a comment to me when we were out there. And so when he came through, which they didn’t show, he said to me, “Hey, Rock, hang it with me.” And I said the same thing back to him. It was like, basically, no way. I already had a deal with Lete. So I went with Lete.
Rock Was Convinced About A Women’s Alliance
Let’s talk about Parvati and Philiip’s decision. Do you think they made the right decision to split the case the way they did?
ROCK: Absolutely not, but I don’t think there was any other case they could have split. Except for, they were probably going to split Dr. Will’s. you know. They didn’t. But I think, I think what happened was C.K was running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. Okay, now she just saved me, like the episode before. Okay. So I’m like, ‘What are they doing?” And I know Maria. What the sh- going on? So I thought maybe they were talking about something else. But then I heard my name, and I thought, son of a gun. So I wasn’t going to go down there. But then Joe says, “Make a decision.” Well, she was in her ear, but the other thing was, with Parvati wanted me out the week before.
Right.
ROCK: She wanted to be Sydnee. She thought Sydnee would be a bigger shield for her. Okay, so yes, I definitely think they made a mistake. Because if I would have beaten the banker and made it through, or if I was safe, the next episode, I was going to start turning up the flames. I was on simmer, man. I was low key in it and everything else. And I was going to start playing a little bit tougher, you know. So anyway, I think 100% she made a mistake, yes.
You really wanted to play the Banker’s game. Was there any doubt in your mind that it was your turn?
ROCK: I tell you what. I thought there was a woman’s alliance brewing. When CK was talking with Parvati, and then the other two, La Shell and Seychelle. I thought, “Oh my God, here it is.” They’re teaming up. It is a woman’s alliance going on and they’re going to take me out. So I think also, because of Parvati wanted me out before. So I immediately said, “I want to play.” I want to play the banker because I wanted to control my own destiny. And if I was going to go, I was going to go out on my goddang terms. But there was nobody going to deny me on this one. But I knew that if either one of them went up, and they won, my happy, big old Mulligan was going to be walking out the island without nothing! Just looking like a dummy.

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‘Deal or No Deal Island’ wouldn’t be as fabulous without the Banker’s Assistants!
Rock’s Emotional Decision About the Last Deal
You started your Banker’s Challenge focusing on numbers related to your family. Talk to me about your amazing family. How proud of you are they?
ROCK: They tell me all the time how proud they are of me of this. You know, I kept my dignity and respect. It’s something I’ve always really wanted to do, but I’ve never had an opportunity to really do anything for myself based upon my job. Everything was everybody else and community and everything else, you know. So this was really, it was great because that was the whole key. Was for my family. I mean, hey, reality superstar, come on. Let’s get real. 65 years old, what am I going to gonna do? Go on and book of the OG Gladiators or some sh-. I doubt it. It was amazing for me. That was the reason why I did it. I wanted them all to say something. And you know, you’re walking in, and let me tell you something, brother, you’re sitting here, you’re talking sh- to the TV and yelling that scream. But boy, when you’re on that island, and you step foot, like I said before, you know, those guys talk so much sh-, I didn’t know to pass out breath mints. Give my toilet paper a bit because there’s so much comes out, and everybody wants to kill you. But my thing was, hey, I’m going to have a great time here. I hope everybody enjoys it. I get a couple laughs here. And the audience, get a laugh out of it, you know. But I’m telling you, it’s a deadly place, man. It’s deadly there on that island. You see all kinds of sh-. But I’m so proud of all of them. 100%. I don’t know if you’re gonna go any further, but I’d like to say on that last deal, why I took the deal. Listen, nobody’s going to pressure a Rock Dog into anything. Let me tell you, WOOOOOO. Nobody. I’ve been my own person my whole life. Listen, I’m a shark, man. I swim by myself. I don’t need that. But in this you need partners. You need help. Anybody knows that in reality TV. But the reason why I took it was number 11 was up on the board, and the way the lights are hitting it, and this is what I’ve been saying is my brother passed away in November, and that was his. 11. And I’m outside a lot in the Jacuzzi. I look up in the stars. The stars are so bright, and if I would have picked his number, he would have been gone. Dirt. And the other two were like my mom and dad. So, the three of them are together and clumped. And I was like, no way. Coupled with the fact of the 75% statistics that I had it. But I knew I had that money in my case. I just knew it, but I couldn’t take a chance because of the fact of getting a low case. But the main contributors were the three numbers left. My family, all my family numbers, and me being proud because I’m the one that’s got to live with it after the fact.
Absolutely
ROCK: That’s it me, and all I care about and trust is my family and me. So that’s it. That’s the reason why I did it.
It was a rough one to watch, but you went out in iconic style. Congratulations on your amazing run. And hey, maybe we will see you on Naked and Afraid one day!
ROCK: I don’t think so. I don’t know man. I know you never know, bro. I don’t like any closed doors.
Well, thank you so much for joining.
ROCK: I appreciate your time.
Deal or No Deal Island 2 airs Tuesdays at 9:00pm on NBC. All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
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